Morocco’s Minimum Wage Hike Faces Uncertainty Amid COVID-19 Crisis

There is no clear indication that this measure has been applied during this period of health crisis related to the coronavirus, reports Aujourd’hui Le Maroc. In a letter addressed to its members on July 27, Chakib Alj, president of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), encouraged companies in sectors not impacted by the crisis to apply the second increase in the SMIG. "Companies operating in the sectors currently in difficulty are, for their part, called upon to favor the maintenance of employment, in particular by postponing the increase," he said.

On the government side, the application of the second 5% increase in the SMIG is suspended pending the social dialogue that is stalling. The Executive is for the moment attached to the agreement signed in 2019 with the social partners, explains Abdelhaq Arabi, advisor to the head of government in charge of social affairs. According to him, the government cannot impose anything on either the unions or the CGEM.

In 2019, a first 5% increase in the minimum wage had been applied. The entry into force of the second 5% increase had been announced for July 2020.